South of the Clouds Tour (13 Days)

BEIJING
Arrive Beijing and transfer to your hotel for 3 nights. Rest of day at leisure, before a welcome dinner at a local restaurant.

BEIJING
Full day tour of Beijing including Tiananmen Square, Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven. After lunch, we include a cycle ride around the traditional neighbourhoods, called Hutongs. Here, you can observe elders whiling away the night with a game of Chinese chess or mahjong, shopkeepers selling traditional snacks like jian bing (pancakes) and baozi (steamed buns), and hear calls announcing the arrival of the knife sharpener or cardboard collector. Finish off the day with a renowned Peking Duck Dinner.

BEIJING
Morning visit to a less crowded part of the Great Wall at Mutianyu, where you can take a short and easy hike and we include a picnic lunch here. Return to Beijing and visit the Summer Palace.

BEIJING TO XIAN
Morning flight to Xian, home to one of the greatest archaeological discoveries of all time, the Terracotta Warriors. Morning tour to see the the Terracotta Army including a private visit to an unopened museum. In the afternoon, visit the Great Mosque and explore the Old Muslim quarter. Finish the day’s activities with a traditional Xian lamb dinner in Lao Sun Jia restaurant before returning to hotel for overnight stay.

XIAN TO KUNMING
Morning walk along the Ming Dynasty City Wall that encircles Xian, visit to Shaanxi History Museum. After lunch, visit the Big Goose Pagoda before taking a late afternoon flight to Kunming, capital of Yunnan province. Transfer to hotel for overnight stay.

KUNMING TO DALI
Fly to Dali, an important trading town on the Silk Route. Take a private boat tour on Erhai Lake, enjoy a traditional tea ceremony and spend some time exploring local Bai villages and markets on foot. After lunch, take a cable car up the Cangshan Mountain to enjoy the scenic view and clean mountain air. In the evening, stroll amongst shops and old houses of Dali, stopping for tea in one of the old teahouses. Overnight stay at hotel.

Day 8

DALI TO LIJIANG
Take a scenic drive along the old road to Lijiang via Shaxi, a busy market town of historical importance, as it is the only surviving example of a Southern Silk Route trade centre. At Shaxi visit an intact ancient theatre, old guesthouses and the town’s protective gates. Arrive Lijiang late afternoon and transfer to your hotel for 2 nights.

LIJIANG
Wander through the charming town of Lijiang with its beautifully decorated arched bridges and visit the Black Dragon Park before sharing a local farmer’s meal in Baihua Village. After lunch, walk through the meadows beneath the Jade Dragon Snow Mountain. Optional evening concert of ancient Naxi music.

TIGER LEAPING GORGE
Early morning departure through the peaks of the Jade Snow Mountain range and into the land of the Yi people, where horses roam free and wild flowers line the roadside. Here, visit Longtan Naxi village, where local life has remained unchanged for centuries. Enjoy the magnificent scenery through the Lijiang Valley as you come to one of the world’s deepest gorges ‘Tiger Leaping Gorge’. Arrive in Zhongdian District, a Tibetan cultural area and a landscape of barley fields and yaks grazing in meadows. Check-in hotel for 2 nights.

ZHONGDIAN
Visit the Songzalin Monastery, one of the largest Tibetan monasteries in Yunnan. Join the monks for morning prayers where the atmosphere will bring to life the ‘Shangri La’ described in Hilton’s Lost Horizon. Join morning prayers with the monks and afterwards visit Shudu Lake. After lunch, visit a local Tibetan family to enjoy yak butter tea and participate in traditional Tibetan dances.